TRAVELLER

Bengaluru: Last-minute hotel booking mobile application RoomsTonite has unveiled a 24x7 assistance service to help travellers with enquiries and meet their needs at pre-stay, during stay and post-stay.
"Our new service 'RoomsTonite Assist' application has been designed to help our customers have a hassle-free travel anytime day or night," RoomsTonite chief...

Mumbai: A large number of Indians have travel plans for this year, with a majority of them indicating that they may increase their spending, says a survey.
"More than half (53 per cent) the Indians will increase their travel budget in 2015. Of those planning to increase their travel spend, 52...

New Delhi: Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma on Sunday said that a proposal for establishing a National Tourism University at Noida is under process.
Addressing an event on the occasion of the second convocation of the Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management (IITTM) at Noida, Sharma also said that a...

The Delhi Transport Corporation is an important part of your life when you are a resident of the Delhi NCR region, and travelling in DTC buses is, simply, character-building stuff. They teach you more about life, than your parents, school or Deepak Chopra will ever manage to.Back in 2009, when...

New Delhi: First and business class air travellers would find flying costlier from the next fiscal with an almost 2 per cent hike in service tax rate proposed in the general budget, which also earmarked Rs 2,500 crore for ailing Air India in 2015-16.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday...

New Delhi: India will provide visa on arrival (VoA) to visitors from 150 countries -- a sharp rise from the 43 countries now, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced on Saturday.
"Last year VoA was issued to 43 countries. As tourism in the country has increased, I propose to increase the countries...

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Railways to reconsider its policy on providing security to commuters in long-distance trains while hearing a petition filed by a young woman who lost her leg after being was pushed out of a moving train as she was chasing a thief...

Revival of investor confidence is key to put economy back on a growth trajectory. The National Manufacturing Policy ("NMP") and the 'Make in India' campaign (along with the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme) is expected to position India as the 'business partner' for creating a 'world class manufacturing hub'.
While manufacturing...

New Delhi: With Railway finances under terrible strain, all eyes will be focused on whether Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will hike the fares and freight rates in the Rail Budget on Thursday which may contain proposals for 'Make in India' initiatives besides enhancing safety and security.
Minister of State for Railway...

(KH Muniyappa is a seven time MP (Lok Sabha) from Kolar in Karnataka. Between 2004 and 2014, he was minister of state Railways, Transport and Minister of State (Independent charge) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)
New Delhi: The health of the Indian Railways in not in good shape. The Railways is...

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday expressed hope that the railway budget would not only meet the aspirations of the state but also of other hilly areas which he claimed have not got their due in expansion of rail network in the past.
"I hope Himachal will find...

New Delhi: The Indian Railways may have failed to achieve growth and speed up work in the last 6 years, but it has achieved one thing. India has seen six Railways ministers in the last six years. The relative stability at the Ministry of Railways came under serious threat after...

New Delhi: Use of solar energy in a big way, launching of waste-to-energy project and proliferation of CNG in train operations are some of the green initiatives likely to be announced in the Rail Budget this time.
Besides an elaborate exercise of water conservation including setting up of water recycling plants...

New Delhi: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu is likely to present a White Paper in Parliament on finances and projects in the ailing national transporter. "The White Paper on Railways will mainly look at issues such as dynamic revenue earning model, freight and fare rationalisation, and capacity augmentation," said a senior...

New Delhi: With Railways reeling under a financial crunch, the number of new trains to be announced in the Rail Budget is unlikely to be more than 100, much less than what is the normal practice every year.
Rail Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, who is considered to be pro-reform, is unlikely...

New Delhi: In order to give boost to the tourism sector, the Budget for 2015-16 is likely to expand the scope of LTA and LTC by including hotel and other expenses besides travel for the purpose of tax benefit.
The Ministry, sources said, it is also considering a proposal to allow...

Attari: In a goodwill gesture, Pakistan government on Monday repatriated 172 Indian fishermen and one civil prisoner after the beating Retreat Ceremony followed by Flag lowering ceremony held at Indo-Pak international border.
All the fishermen crossed over to India on the basis of 'Emergency Travel Certificate' issued by the Islamabad-based...

Singapore: The prospective owners of low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd plan to cut the airline's fleet, shrink its network and return to a "plain vanilla" business model to achieve profitability, two people close to the investors said.
Their plans include culling the 15 Bombardier Q400 regional aircraft from the airline's fleet and...

New Delhi: Beleaguered airline SpiceJet said it has received no credit from oil companies, even as it scotched speculation about having failed to submit any revival plan.
"... there was no revival plan due for submission today," SpiceJet's Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said late in a statement.
The airline also said...

Melbourne: Australia has revised its travel advisory for India asking its citizens to exercise high degree of caution while travelling to the country, citing high threat of terrorist activities.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) updated its advice on Tuesday warning the Australians travelling to India that terrorists...

Cold wave has intensified in North India with the National capital recording its coldest day of the season on Sunday at a minimum of 4.8 degrees Celsius. Monday too remained cold with minimum temperature hovering around 5.7 degrees Celsius.
...

New Delhi: The Wadia Group-promoted budget carrier GoAir on Sunday said it has put 1.7 million seats up for sale, offering fares as low as Rs 1,469 for travel next year with a five-day booking period starting on Sunday, to stimulate demand during the lean period.
The special offer is available...

New York: A blast of rain and snow along the East Coast snarled traffic and disrupted flights for millions of Americans at the start of the long Thanksgiving weekend, traditionally the busiest time of the year for US travel.
The nor'easter that formed over the Gulf of Mexico brought rain to...

New Delhi: British Airways has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to two women for discomfort and inconvenience caused to them in their journey to the US in 2007.
The South West Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, presided by SK Sarvaria, asked the...

New Delhi: British Airways and Lufthansa are among several international carriers coming up with special fares and products to target the high-end Indian air traveler.
British Airways (BA) came out with a limited period 20 per cent discount for its business class flights to North America, while Lufthansa announced introduction of...

If you thought train journeys in India are all about adjusting your luggage below the lower berth and exchanging the upper berth on request, you need to travel by these Indian trains soon. How about spending a week exploring palaces, forts, cave paintings, while you're treated like royalty on a...

The winter season is upon us and if you love the cold mornings and hill tops covered in a blanket of snow, there is no dearth of places you can visit in India. From snow covered mountains in Sonmarg in Jammu and Kashmir to the misty mornings of Coorg in...